Teach the Children

We were able to interview with Music Authentic about our new song, Teach the children. The link to the full article is here: https://musicauthentic.com/2023/03/11/woetorch-releases-teach-the-children-for-the-kids-and-a-better-world/

Please see excerpts, below.

Music Authentic: We have a site-traditional question: How did you sleep last night, considering where the world is at and heading towards?

Sol Crier: Thank you for asking. I slept as best I can, considering all the bad news that tends to surround us on a daily basis. It is tempting to stay up, worrying or scrolling through social media, seeing all the ills of the world, but I find that I am a better activist and all around person when I get 7-8 hours of healthy sleep. You know what they say about putting the oxygen mask on your own face first, right?

Music Authentic: Watching your “Teach the Children” music video, a conscious, socially aware alternative rock band’s portrayal is pictured. Are you?

Sol Crier: Am I, Sol Crier, conscious and socially aware? I am as aware as I can be without becoming overwhelmed about the many things I do not have control over. I sign petitions, attend marches, and, my even bigger contribution, pass on age-appropriate social awareness to my own children. We have had discussions on human rights and full lessons on the civil rights movements, what it means to be LGBTQ and an ally, bullying, and they’re able to apply these lessons to their treatment of other kids and people out there in the real world. There is one level of being conscious and socially aware that includes knowing what’s going on in modern times and tying that to an understanding of history, feminism, and human rights, but another level of activism is being able to apply this knowledge to daily scenarios and also to pass social awareness on, in my case, to my own children and through the work I do as a writer and musician.

Music Authentic: Gun violence is the leading cause of children’s death followed by suicide in the USA. What do you think led to this point in the land of free and promise – or at least what it used to be?

Sol Crier: I hope that our music video came across in the way that we hoped, not just pointing the finger at one given entity, but seeing the contributions of various parts of society. Religiosity, for example, might combine with a predisposition to mental illness and lead a person to get an idea in their head that “god is telling them” to pursue a large-scale act of violence. Another contributing factor might be trauma, child abuse, watching a parent getting abused by another parent, bullying. There are so many other potential factors. I think it is too easy to point a finger at an organisation like the NRA or to place the blame on the individual, and I am, by no means, trying to diminish the anger felt by families of victims of these acts of violence. I hope they are able to grieve in a healthy way and, if part of that is focusing on one contributing factor, please, let that anger out and find peace how you can. Our song, however, reminds viewers of the many other factors that need to be addressed in our society to reduce gun violence in America.

Music Authentic: Your bio depicts a unity in the band – a thing that is scarce in a divided world. What is the real role of a band, an artist, a musician in this era? It seems for me a few picked up the torch to show the light and many are running self-indulgent circles…

Sol Crier: Great question. It might be different for each band. Some want to make the money, catering to the record label and certain audiences, and, even more rarely, using some of that money to help society. Philanthropy isn’t really in the cards for us right now, but we do hope that our words, music, and videos contribute to shaping a better society. I hope that that is the role of most bands, artists, and musicians: to leave a positive mark on the world and act as a leader towards a brighter future. Music is so influential, even if it is a silly pop song with a repetitive beat, you could potentially say so much or at least do some form of uplifting. Helping your audience to be or stay in a good mood is just as important as helping them through a form of catharsis, anger, sadness, etc. There’s a time and a place for all the emotions, and music is tied so closely to these, of course musicians would be a conduit for listeners’ feelings.

Music Authentic: If you were elected, what would you start to help the nation and the youth with?

Sol Crier: First off, I can’t even begin to know or understand the intricacies involved in holding a government office. There are certainly many cases of corruption and many roadblocks for government officials who are actually trying to do good. That being said, I think that I would love to start by increasing the amount of funding to schools and decreasing the amount of strict testing and stringent work loads. Teachers need to get paid more and have more humane work hours and expectations, and students need more access to resources, individualized learning plans, tutoring, and less pressures regarding grades and deadlines. Families, in general, could also benefit from increased income and access to resources like healthcare, mental health options, in-home supportive services, healthy food, and programs to help to connect parents and lower workloads so parents can be less stressed and more present with their children. Just having a fair wage is one thing, but there are so many other resources and suggestions I could make and many are fighting to achieve.